Since Fourth Year
by KatyPotter
Summary: Since fourth year Fred Weasly has liked Hermione, he thought it was just brotherly love. Could it be more? Fred and George get books from the future...can they change it for the better. Rating because I'm parinoid.
1. Chapter 1

Fred and George were hiding from Filch in a secret passageway. They were quietly snickering at the man's idiocy. He knew he would never catch the twins though he tried anyway.

They checked that the coast was clear before walking down the seventh floor corridor. As they passed by the tapestry of Barnubus the dancing troll a door appeared on the wall of the opposite wall. The twins frowned, they had found every passageway in and out of Hogwarts and there was no way they missed one.

Harry now had the map but they knew there was no passageway there, they checked both ways before opening the door. Inside was a coffee table and two arm chairs. On the coffee table was a book with a letter on top.

"What do you suppose this room is, Georgie?" Fred asked walking towards the table.

"I'm not sure Freddie, why don't we read the letter. It seems to be addressed to us anyway." The other twin said sitting in an arm chair, forcing Fred to sit in the other. Fred quickly opened the letter and read outloud.

_Dear Fred & George,_

_ I know you two aren't going to believe me but I'll try anyway. I'm from the future. I'm actually someone you know really well, I'm sad to say that one of you doesn't make it through the upcoming war with Voldemort. I'm sad to say it is Fred, George loses an ear but it really doesn't get much worse than losing your twin._

_I sent you these books to show you how Ron treated Hermione. Yes Fred…everyone now knows of your obvious crush on Hermione. They are married in my time and are currently going through a nasty divorce. _

_I talked to Hermione and asked about you. She froze up and denied ever liking you but a few weeks later I asked her again and she broke down into tears and admitted liking you but was too late when you had died, so she felt like she would settle for Ron._

_I need you to read these books and try to change things…especially dying. Dying would be bad. Oh! And have Dumbledore look into Hermione Grangers parental records when he gets the chance, the ministry might have some explaining to do._

_Love,_

_~G.P._

_P.S. If you mess with my love life I will hurt you both…_

Fred was still slightly red from the letter admitting his crush for Hermione. George on the other hand was smiling like an idiot.

"I knew it! I knew you liked Granger! Why didn't you just tell me?" George asked.

"I-I didn't really consider it…I-I had like, butterflies in my stomach when she would talk to me. O-or when we would be in the same room." Fred admitted blushing softly.

"What about the part about checking Hermione's parental records?" George asked. Fred shrugged he really had no idea what that was about.

"We can figure that one out later, do you want to read?" Fred asked.

"I think we should, especially if you really do have feelings for a certain fourth year." George wagged his eyebrows, "But you're reading first."

"Fine." The other twin grumbled picking up the book. **"Potter! Weasley! Will you pay attention?"**

**Professor McGonagall's irritated voice cracked like a whip through the Transfiguration class on Thursday, and Harry and Ron both jumped and looked up.**

**It was the end of the lesson; they had finished their work; the guinea fowl they had been changing into guinea pigs had been shut away in a large cage on Professor McGonagall's desk (Neville's still had feathers); they had copied down their homework from the blackboard ("Describe, with examples, the ways in which Transforming Spells must be adapted when performing Cross-Species Switches"}.**

**The bell was due to ring at any moment, and Harry and Ron, who had been having a sword fight with a couple of Fred and George's fake wands at the back of the class, looked up, Ron holding a tin parrot and Harry, a rubber haddock.**

Gred and Forge laughed at that before winking at each other. They knew the wands would be a hit.

"**Now that Potter and Weasley have been kind enough to act their age," said Professor McGonagall, with an angry look at the pair of them as the head of Harry's haddock drooped and fell silently to the floor - Ron's parrot's beak had severed it moments before - "I have something to say to you all.** **The Yule Ball is approaching -a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests. Now, the ball will be open only to fourth years and above - although you may invite a younger student if you wish -"**

George smiled, "Maybe you should ask Granger, Forge." He suggested. Fred turned bright red.

"And maybe you should ask Angelina." He teased right back. That caused George to stop mid laugh and glare at his now snickering brother.

**Lavender Brown let out a shrill giggle. Parvati Patil nudged her hard in the ribs, her face working furiously as she too fought not to giggle. They both looked around at Harry,**

The twins snickered at that, "Yeah, let's have all of the girls looked at the boy who hates attention. I think that's just a tad ironic." Fred said to a chuckling George.

**Professor McGonagall ignored them, which Harry thought was distinctly unfair, as she had just told off him and Ron.**

**"Dress robes will be worn," Professor McGonagall continued, "and the ball will start at eight o'clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight in the Great Hall. Now then -"** **Professor McGonagall stared deliberately around the class.** "**The Yule Ball is of course a chance for us all to - er - let our hair down," she said, in a disapproving voice.**

"I don't think Minnie has _ever_ 'let her hair down'. As she calls it." George said with a smirk.

**Lavender giggled harder than ever, with her hand pressed hard against her mouth to stifle the sound. Harry could see what was funny this time: Professor McGonagall, with her hair in a tight bun, looked as though she had never let her hair down in any sense.**

"See!" George said to his twin, "Harry gets me."

"I get you too you git! I'm the better looking twin after all." Fred said in a pompous manner that reminded them both of their older brother. They both burst out laughing after Fred said this.

"**But that does NOT mean," Professor McGonagall went on, "that we will be relaxing the standards of behavior we expect from Hogwarts students. I will be most seriously displeased if a Gryffindor student embarrasses the school in any way."**

The boys paled at that, "Yeah, we really don't want to pull any pranks on Christmas." They said together before Fred turned back to the book.

**The bell rang, and there was the usual scuffle of activity as everyone packed their bags and swung them onto their shoulders.**

**Professor McGonagall called above the noise, "Potter - a word, if you please."**

**Assuming this had something to do with his headless rubber haddock,** **Harry proceeded gloomily to the teacher's desk. Professor McGonagall waited until the rest of the class had gone, and then said, "Potter, the champions and their partners -"**

"**What partners?" said Harry.**

George snickered at that, "He's not that bright is he?"

"He's the bloody boy who lived! He doesn't need brains! Just his 'amazing bright green eyes, his fabulous personality, and his fame.'" Fred said with a mock dreamy voice.

"You do realize that if Ginny ever finds out we read her diary she will kill us." George said in a solemn tone.

"Yeah, but she hasn't had one since our fourth year." Fred said his eyebrows pulled together. "We may have to look into that soon." George nodded in agreement.

**Professor McGonagall looked suspiciously at him, as though she thought he was trying to be funny.** "**Your partners for the Yule Ball, Potter," she said coldly. "Your dance partners."**

**Harry's insides seemed to curl up and shrivel.**

"**Dance partners?" He felt himself going red. "I don't dance," he said quickly.**

"He can handle a bloody horntail but he can't handle dancing?" Fred asked incredulously.

"**Oh yes, you do," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "That's what I'm telling you. Traditionally, the champions and their partners open the ball."**

**Harry had a sudden mental image of himself in a top hat and tails, accompanied by a girl in the sort of frilly dress Aunt Petunia always wore to Uncle Vernon's work parties.**

The twins grimaced at that, they didn't even want to imagine what Harry meant by that. They had met 'Aunt' Petunia and 'Uncle' Vernon earlier this year and they really didn't like what they saw.

"**I'm not dancing," he said.**

"**It is traditional," said Professor McGonagall firmly. "You are a Hogwarts champion, and you will do what is expected of you as a representative of the school. So make sure you get yourself a partner, Potter."**

"Ooof!" George said.

"More pressure on the boy who lived." Fred winced.

"**But-I don't-"**

"**You heard me, Potter," said Professor McGonagall in a very final sort of way.**

**A week ago Harry would have said finding a partner for a dance would be a cinch compared to taking on a Hungarian Horntail. But now that he had done the latter, and was facing the prospect of asking a girl to the ball, he thought he'd rather have another round with the dragon.**

"Didn't we just say something similar, Forge?" Fred asked.

"I do believe we did, Gred."

**Harry had never known so many people to put their names down to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas; he always did, of course, because the alternative was usually going back to Privet Drive,** **but he had always been very much in the minority before now. This year, however, everyone in the fourth year and above seemed to be staying, and they all seemed to Harry to be obsessed with the coming ball - or at least all the girls were, and it was amazing how many girls Hogwarts suddenly seemed to hold; he had never quite noticed that before. Girls giggling and whispering in the corridors, girls shrieking with laughter as boys passed them, girls excitedly comparing notes on what they were going to wear on Christmas night…**

"**Why do they have to move in packs?" Harry asked Ron as a dozen or so girls walked past them, sniggering and staring at Harry. "How're you supposed to get one on their own to ask them?"**

"You ask them if you can talk to them alone." George said as if to a three year old. Fred snickered at his brothers tone but continued to read.

"**Lasso one?" Ron suggested. "Got any idea who you're going to try?"**

**Harry didn't answer. He knew perfectly well whom he'd like to ask, but working up the nerve was something else… Cho was a year older than he was; she was very pretty; she was a very good Quidditch player, and she was also very popular.**

"And Cedric is dating her so…" Fred said letting the sentence hang.

**Ron seemed to know what was going on inside Harry's head.**

"**Listen, you're not going to have any trouble. You're a champion. You've just beaten a Hungarian Horntail. I bet they'll be queuing up to go with you."**

"That's true, but only if you get up enough courage to ask them." Fred said nodding.

**In tribute to their recently repaired friendship, Ron had kept the bitterness in his voice to a bare minimum.**

**Moreover, to Harry's amazement, he turned out to be quite right.**

**A curly-haired third-year Hufflepuff girl to whom Harry had never spoken in his life asked him to go to the ball with her the very next day. Harry was so taken aback he said no before he'd even stopped to consider the matter.**

"Poor kid." George said. Fred nodded in agreement before turning back to the book.

**The girl walked off looking rather hurt, and Harry had to endure Dean's, Seamus's, and Ron's taunts about her all through History of Magic. The following day, two more girls asked him, a second year and (to his horror) a fifth year who looked as though she might knock him out if he refused.**

"**She was quite good-looking," said Ron fairly, after he'd stopped laughing.**

"**She was a foot taller than me," said Harry, still unnerved. "Imagine what I'd look like trying to dance with her."**

They snickered at the thought of Harry with a woman a foot taller than him, dancing with each other.

**Hermione's words about Krum kept coming back to him. "They only like him because he's famous!" Harry doubted very much if any of the girls who had asked to be his partner so far would have wanted to go to the ball with him if he hadn't been a school champion. Then he wondered if this would bother him if Cho asked him.**

"Probably not." They said together.

**On the whole, Harry had to admit that even with the embarrassing prospect of opening the ball before him, life had definitely improved since he had got through the first task. He wasn't attracting nearly as much unpleasantness in the corridors anymore, which he suspected had a lot to do with Cedric - he had an idea Cedric might have told the Hufflepuffs to leave Harry alone, in gratitude for Harry's tipoff about the dragons.**

"I think we should be upset that he gave away a secrete that could have given Gryffindor a win, but it's just so…Harry." George said shaking his head with a small smile.

**There seemed to be fewer Support Cedric Diggory! badges around too. Draco Malfoy, of course, was still quoting Rita Skeeter's article to him at every possible opportunity, but he was getting fewer and fewer laughs out of it - and just to heighten Harry's feeling of well-being, no story about Hagrid had appeared in the Daily Prophet.**

"**She didn' seem very int'rested in magical creatures, ter tell yeh the truth," Hagrid said, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione asked him how his interview with Rita Skeeter had gone during the last Care of Magical Creatures lesson of the term. To their very great relief, Hagrid had given up on direct contact with the skrewts now, and they were merely sheltering behind his cabin today, sitting at a trestle table and preparing a fresh selection of food with which to tempt the skrewts.**

" **She jus' wanted me ter talk about you, Harry," Hagrid continued in a low voice. "Well, I told her we'd been friends since I went ter fetch yeh from the Dursleys. 'Never had to tell him off in four years?' she said. 'Never played you up in lessons, has he?' I told her no, an she didn' seem happy at all. Yeh'd think she wanted me to say yeh were horrible, Harry."**

"That;s exactly what she was trying to do." They growled together. They had grown to love Harry as a brother. And no one messed with their brothers, only they had that right.

"'**Course she did," said Harry, throwing lumps of dragon liver into a large metal bowl and picking up his knife to cut some more. "She can't keep writing about what a tragic little hero I am, it'll get boring."**

"**She wants a new angle, Hagrid," said Ron wisely as he shelled salamander eggs. "You were supposed to say Harry's a mad delinquent!"**

"**But he's not!" said Hagrid, looking genuinely shocked.**

"**She should've interviewed Snape," said Harry grimly. "He'd give her the goods on me any day. 'Potter has been crossing lines ever since he first arrived at this school… '"**

"**Said that, did he?" said Hagrid, while Ron and Hermione laughed. "Well, yeh might've bent a few rules. Harry, bu' yeh're all righ' really, aren' you?"**

"Yeah! Especially because he saved Ginny, fourth year." Fred said with a fond smile.

"And fought off a horntail!" George said just as excitedly.

"**Cheers, Hagrid," said Harry, grinning.**

"**You coming to this ball thing on Christmas Day, Hagrid?" said Ron.**

"**Though' I might look in on it, yeah," said Hagrid gruffly. "Should be a good do, I reckon. You'll be openin the dancin', won yeh, Harry? Who're you takin'?"**

"**No one, yet," said Harry, feeling himself going red again. Hagrid didn't pursue the subject.**

"That's because Hagrid is a good bloke." George said smiling. Fred nodded in agreement, Hagrid was good for hiding from Filch and promising not to tell.

**The last week of term became increasingly boisterous as it progressed. Rumours about the Yule Ball were flying everywhere, though Harry didn't believe half of them - for instance, that Dumbledore had bought eight hundred barrels of mulled mead from Madam Rosmerta. It seemed to be fact, however, that he had booked the Weird Sisters. Exactly who or what the Weird Sisters were Harry didn't know, never having had access to a wizard's wireless, but he deduced from the wild excitement of those who had grown up listening to the WWN (Wizarding Wireless Network) that they were a very famous musical group.**

"Whoo! Dumbledore!" The twins called.

**Some of the teachers, like little Professor Flitwick, gave up trying to teach them much when their minds were so clearly elsewhere; he allowed them to play games in his lesson on Wednesday, and spent most of it talking to Harry about the perfect Summoning Charm Harry had used during the first task of the Triwizard Tournament.**

"Which was bloody brilliant!" They said together.

**Other teachers were not so generous. Nothing would ever deflect Professor Binns, for example, from plowing on through his notes on goblin rebellions - as Binns hadn't let his own death stand in the way of continuing to teach, they supposed a small thing like Christmas wasn't going to put him off. It was amazing how he could make even bloody and vicious goblin riots sound as boring as Percy's cauldron-bottom report.**

George and Fred groaned, "Oh sweet Merlin!" Fred called.

"Not the cauldron-bottom report!" George.

"Anything but that!" They cried together.

**Professors McGonagall and Moody kept them working until the very last second of their classes too, and Snape, of course, would no sooner let them play games in class than adopt Harry. Staring nastily around at them all, he informed them that he would be testing them on poison antidotes during the last lesson of the term.**

"**Evil, he is," Ron said bitterly that night in the Gryffindor common room. "Springing a test on us on the last day. Ruining the last bit of term with a whole load of studying."**

"He wouldn't be Snape if he didn't do that." George mused. Fred nodded in agreement.

"Always expect the unexpected."

"**Mmm… you're not exactly straining yourself, though, are you?" said Hermione, looking at him over the top of her Potions notes. Ron was busy building a card castle out of his Exploding Snap pack - a much more interesting pastime than with Muggle cards, because of the chance that the whole thing would blow up at any second.**

"**It's Christmas, Hermione," said Harry lazily; he was rereading Flying with the Cannons for the tenth time in an armchair near the fire. Hermione looked severely over at him too.**

"We at least do our homework before we go pranking." Fred said.

George rolled his eyes, "You only had us start doing that because of fourth year when Hermione got petrified you freaked out that no one had told you." Fred blushed but did not admit it. He had even started to really like Hermione then as well.

"**I'd have thought you'd be doing something constructive, Harry, even if you don't want to learn your antidotes!"**

"**Like what?" Harry said as he watched Joey Jenkins of the Cannons belt a Bludger toward a Ballycastle Bats Chaser.**

"**That egg!" Hermione hissed.**

"**Come on, Hermione, I've got till February the twenty-fourth," Harry said.**

"I'm sad to say that even _I_ agree with Granger at that point. That time will have come and gone with everything they have to do in fourth year in preparations for O.W.L.S next year." Fred watched his brother in shock as George spoke.

"Who are you and what have you done to my twin?" George just rolled his eyes and motioned for Fred to continue to read.

**He had put the golden egg upstairs in his trunk and hadn't opened it since the celebration party after the first task. There were still two and a half months to go until he needed to know what all the screechy wailing meant, after all.**

"**But it might take weeks to work it out!" said Hermione. "You're going to look a real idiot if everyone else knows what the next task is and you don't!"**

The twins snickered at the thought before frowning. If Harry didn't figure it out he could be in real danger. They had begun to like Harry as a brother and losing him would be like losing a Weasley…

"**Leave him alone, Hermione, he's earned a bit of a break," said Ron, and he placed the last two cards on top of the castle and the whole lot blew up, singeing his eyebrows.**

"**Nice look Ron… go well with your dress robes, that will."**

"Three guesses as to who." The twins said together with smirks.

**It was Fred and George.**

"Yeessss!" They yelled together.

**They sat down at the table with Harry, Ron, and Hermione as Ron felt how much damage had been done.**

"**Ron, can we borrow Pigwidgeon?" George asked.**

"**No, he's off delivering a letter," said Ron. "Why?"**

"**Because George wants to invite him to the ball," said Fred sarcastically.**

"That was a good one, Freddie!" George said laughing. Fred just rolled his eyes. "But I thought you had wanted to invite Granger."

Fred narrowed his eyes, "She does have a name you know." George looked at him innocently, "You should call her Hermione as I know you would hate me if I called Angelina 'Johnson'."

George stiffened, "Okay maybe I would have a problem with it."

"And besides, who says I wanted to invite Hermione. Maybe I had planned on asking Angelina." George's face turned red in anger as Fred smirked and began to read again.

"**Because we want to send a letter, you stupid great prat," said George.**

**"Who d'you two keep writing to, eh?" said Ron.**

"**Nose out, Ron, or I'll burn that for you too," said Fred, waving his wand threateningly. "So… you lot got dates for the ball yet?"**

"**Nope," said Ron.**

"**Well, you'd better hurry up, mate, or all the good ones will be gone," said Fred.**

"**Who're you going with, then?" said Ron.**

"**Angelina," said Fred promptly, without a trace of embarrassment.**

Fred froze and stumbled over the words as George looked murderous. "Erm…You do know I was joking when I said I wanted to ask her to the ball. I really do want to invite Hermione…Angelina is like a sister!" Fred quickly said trying to keep the peace.

George didn't say anything as his face slowly went back to its original color. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back into the chair and closed his eyes.

"**What?" said Ron, taken aback. "You've already asked her?"**

"**Good point," said Fred. He turned his head and called across the common room, "Oy! Angelina!"**

**Angelina, who had been chatting with Alicia Spinnet near the fire, looked over at him.** "**What?" she called back.**

"**Want to come to the ball with me?"**

**Angelina gave Fred an appraising sort of look.**

"**All right, then," she said, and she turned back to Alicia and carried on chatting with a bit of a grin on her face.**

Fred gulped as he saw the stem rise out of his brothers face, "Ma-maybe I just invited her for you. You know I don't like Angelina that way, I mean…I like her like a sister…I mean…uggghhh! I don't even know what I mean! Just know that it isn't going to happen in this timeline." George seemed to relax as his brother spoke.

"**There you go," said Fred to Harry and Ron, "piece of cake."** **He got to his feet, yawning, and said, "We'd better use a school owl then, George, come on…"**

**They left. Ron stopped feeling his eyebrows and looked across the smoldering wreck of his card castle at Harry.**

"**We should get a move on, you know… ask someone. He's right. We don't want to end up with a pair of trolls."**

**Hermione let out a sputter of indignation.** **"A pair of… what, excuse me?"**

"**Well - you know," said Ron, shrugging. "I'd rather go alone than with – with Eloise Midgen, say."**

"**Her acne's loads better lately - and she's really nice!"**

"That's our Hermione. Always standing up for others before herself." George said with a smirk. Fred glared at his brother before going back to reading.

"**Her nose is off-center," said Ron. **

"**Oh I see," Hermione said, bristling. "So basically, you're going to take the best looking girl who'll have you, even if she's completely horrible?"**

"**Er - yeah, that sounds about right," said Ron.**

"**I'm going to bed," Hermione snapped, and she swept off toward the girls' staircase without another word.**

Fred frowned, he didn't like it when Hermione got all upset like that.

**The Hogwarts staff, demonstrating a continued desire to impress the visitors from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, seemed determined to show the castle at its best this Christmas. When the decorations went up. Harry noticed that they were the most stunning he had yet seen inside the school. Everlasting icicles had been attached to the banisters of the marble staircase; the usual twelve Christmas trees in the Great Hall were bedecked with everything from luminous holly berries to real, hooting, golden owls, and the suits of armor had all been bewitched to sing carols whenever anyone passed them. It was quite something to hear "O Come, All Ye Faithful" sung by an empty helmet that only knew half the words. Several times, Filch the caretaker had to extract Peeves from inside the armor, where he had taken to hiding, filling in the gaps in the songs with lyrics of his own invention, all of which were very rude.**

The twins grinned and high-fived, they had been working on that for months now! Peeves always acted like he hated the twins but in reality he would do anything for the two pranksters. Especially things like learning new pranks…

**And still Harry hadn't asked Cho to the ball.**

They groaned, that boy had to grow a pair and ask her already. Though George thought it was quite hypocritical of Fred to be saying such a thing because he still denied inviting Hermione to the ball.

**He and Ron were getting very nervous now, though as Harry pointed out, Ron would look much less stupid than he would without a partner; Harry was supposed to be starting the dancing with the other champions.**

"**I suppose there's always Moaning Myrtle," he said gloomily, referring to the ghost who haunted the girls' toilets on the second floor.**

The boys shuddered at that, they hated her. She had gotten them in trouble on more than one occasion.

"**Harry - we've just got to grit our teeth and do it," said Ron on Friday morning, in a tone that suggested they were planning the storming of an impregnable fortress.**

"**When we get back to the common room tonight, we'll both have partners - agreed?"**

"**Er… okay," said Harry.**

**But every time he glimpsed Cho that day - during break, and then lunchtime, and once on the way to History of Magic - she was surrounded by friends. Didn't she ever go anywhere alone? Could he perhaps ambush her as she was going into a bathroom? But no - she even seemed to go there with an escort of four or five girls. Yet if he didn't do it soon, she was bound to have been asked by somebody else.**

"Knowing Cho and Cedric…she already has." Fred said. George rolled his eyes, Didn't Fred see that Hermione was the same way? George could swear that sometime soon Ron was going to get his head out of his arse and ask her…though they were trying to avoid that due to her future.

**He found it hard to concentrate on Snape's Potions test, and consequently forgot to add the key ingredient - a bezoar -meaning that he received bottom marks. He didn't care, though; he was too busy screwing up his courage for what he was about to do.**

**When the bell rang, he grabbed his bag, and hurried to the dungeon door.**

"**I'll meet you at dinner," he said to Ron and Hermione, and he dashed off upstairs.**

**He'd just have to ask Cho for a private word, that was all… He hurried off through the packed corridors looking for her, and (rather sooner than he had expected) he found her, emerging from a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.**

**"Er - Cho? Could I have a word with you?"**

**Giggling should be made illegal Harry thought furiously, as all the girls around Cho started doing it. She didn't, though. She said, "Okay," and followed him out of earshot of her classmates.**

"Finally!" they called together.

"Took him long enough!" George yelled.

**Harry turned to look at her and his stomach gave a weird lurch as though he had missed a step going downstairs.**

"**Er," he said.** **He couldn't ask her. He couldn't. But he had to. Cho stood there looking puzzled, watching him.** **The words came out before Harry had quite got his tongue around them.** "**Wangoballwime?"**

They groaned again, "We're going to have to give him lessons." Fred said shaking his head. George nodded in agreement.

"With Ron as well, though we might want to wait until you get _your_ head out your arse and ask her out." George supplied. Fred pouted, but seeing that he would not get a budge from George he continued to read.

"**Sorry?" said Cho.**

"**D'you - d'you want to go to the ball with me?" said Harry. Why did he have to go red now? Why?**

"**Oh!" said Cho, and she went red too. "Oh Harry, I'm really sorry," and she truly looked it. "I've already said I'll go with someone else."**

"Told you!" They said in sing-song voices.

**"Oh," said Harry.**

**It was odd; a moment before his insides had been writhing like snakes, but suddenly he didn't seem to have any insides at all.**

"**Oh okay," he said, "no problem."**

"**I'm really sorry," she said again.**

"**That's okay," said Harry.**

**They stood there looking at each other, and then Cho said, "Well-"**

"**Yeah," said Harry.**

"**Well, 'bye," said Cho, still very red. She walked away.** **Harry called after her, before he could stop himself.**

They groaned again, they couldn't believe how stupid he could be! Were they ever like that? Merlin, they hoped not.

"**Who're you going with?"**

"**Oh - Cedric," she said. "Cedric Diggory."**

"**Oh right," said Harry.** **His insides had come back again. It felt as though they had been filled with lead in their absence.**

**Completely forgetting about dinner, he walked slowly back up to Gryffindor Tower, Cho's voice echoing in his ears with every step he took. "Cedric – Cedric Diggory." He had been starting to quite like Cedric - prepared to overlook the fact that he had once beaten him at Quidditch, and was handsome, and popular, and nearly everyone's favorite champion. Now he suddenly realized that Cedric was in fact a useless pretty boy who didn't have enough brains to fill an eggcup.**

The boys chuckled, that was how it normally felt. Yes, the Weasley twins had been rejected at least once in their lifetimes.

"**Fairy lights," he said dully to the Fat Lady - the password had been changed the previous day.**

"**Yes, indeed, dear!" she trilled, straightening her new tinsel hair band as she swung forward to admit him.**

**Entering the common room, Harry looked around, and to his surprise he saw Ron sitting ashen-faced in a distant corner. Ginny was sitting with him, talking to him in what seemed to be a low, soothing voice.**

The boys tensed up and looked ready to attack. No one hurt their brother!

"**What's up, Ron?" said Harry, joining them.**

**Ron looked up at Harry, a sort of blind horror in his face.** "**Why did I do it?" he said wildly. "I don't know what made me do it!"**

"**What?" said Harry.**

"**He - er - just asked Fleur Delacour to go to the ball with him," said Ginny.**

"Ooohhhh!" They said before they burst out into hysterical laughter.

**She looked as though she was fighting back a smile, but she kept patting Ron's arm sympathetically.**

"**You what?' said Harry.**

"**I don't know what made me do it!" Ron gasped again. "What was I playing at? There were people - all around - I've gone mad - everyone watching! I was just walking past her in the entrance hall - she was standing there talking to Diggory - and it sort of came over me - and I asked her!"**

"She was using her Veela charm on Diggory?" George asked his eyes wide, but a hint of a smirked graced his lips.

"Seems like it o'brother o'mine." Fred said with the same expression.

**Ron moaned and put his face in his hands. He kept talking, though the words were barely distinguishable.**

"**She looked at me like I was a sea slug or something. Didn't even answer. And then - I dunno - I just sort of came to my senses and ran for it."**

**"She's part veela," said Harry. "You were right - her grandmother was one. It wasn't your fault, I bet you just walked past when she was turning on the old charm for Diggory and got a blast of it - but she was wasting her time. He's going with Cho Chang."**

"Poor, poor Harry. Maybe we should set him up with Ginny?" Fred suggested.

"Would we really trust Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived, and knows nothing about romance with our youngest sister?" George asked.

They looked at each other before smiling, "Yes!" They said together.

**Ron looked up.**

"**I asked her to go with me just now," Harry said dully, "and she told me."**

**Ginny had suddenly stopped smiling.**

"Two guesses why." Fred mumbled causing George to snicker.

"**This is mad," said Ron. "We're the only ones left who haven't got anyone - well, except Neville. Hey - guess who he asked? Hermione!"**

Fred suddenly stopped reading as George looked at Fred with wide eyes. Fred looked thoughtful before looking furious and dropping the book. He quickly got to his feet waving behind him. "I'll be right back."

George quietly snicker behind his brother, he was glad that he had finally gotten the message and gotten his head out of his arse.

Fred ran/sprinted up to the Gryffindor common room before giving the password and entering the common room. As expected Ron, Harry, and Hermione were sitting on the couch and arm chair in front of the fire place.

"Erm…Granger, could I talk to you a moment?" Fred paused for a minute, "Alone?" She looked confused but she nodded, putting her book down and heading out of the portrait hole. Harry and Ron watched the two confused.

Fred quickly followed Hermione out of the common room. "What do you need Fred?" She asked, "It'd better not be illegal." She warned.

Fred chuckled slightly, "Now why would I do something like that?" he asked teasingly. Hermione just raised her eyebrow. "But onto the point…I was wondering if…maybe…you'd…go to the ball with me?" he finally asked.

Hermione's eyes widened in shock, "No seriously what do you want?"

Fred frowned, "I'm being serious here, Hermione."

She looked shocked that he called her by her first name, "Bu-but why me…why not Katie…Alicia…or even Angelina?"

Fred snickered at the last one, "My dear twin would rip off my limbs if I asked Angelina, and I wouldn't ask her anyway…Hermione, I-I think…I might be…I think…I think I like you." He finally got out.

At first she didn't say anything she was so shocked, finally she gave him a small smile, "I like you too, Fred." She said hugging him around the neck.

"I think I've known I liked you ever since George and my fifth year, when you stood up to Malfoy. When he called you that horrid name I just wanted to hex him to next week. At first I thought it was because I thought of you as a sister, now I know that there is more to it…" Fred said.

Hermione had to blink back tears, "I-I think I've known since you sang that stupid cheer when Harry got into Gryffindor." Hermione chuckled again. "I thought it was just a little crush, that it would go away, but…it didn't." she smiled.

Fred made his decision right then and there that Hermione would have a say in what they would do to change the future, "Is there any way that you can get away from the 'boy-who-lived' and Ronniekins?"

"Why?" She asked narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"George and I found something and we want the amazing Hermione Grangers opinion." Fred said causing Hermione to blush. "Oh! By the way…do you think you would go to Hogsmead with me this weekend?"

Hermione smiled and nodded, "I think I can do both." She kissed his cheek and headed back into the common room to tell Ron and Harry that she was going to do some research on the egg.

Fred had frozen momentarily when she kissed his cheek but snapped out of it as she climbed back out of the portrait hole. He took her hand and headed for the seventh floor where the Room of Requirement was.

Hermione looked confused as they passed the tapestry of Barnubus but she gasped in shock as Fred pulled her into a room she _knew_ wasn't there before.

"Took you long enough." George complained.

"Well I had to get her to say yes didn't I? More than I can say for you who hasn't even asked Angelina yet." Fred said rolling his eyes and sitting on the love seat that had replaced the arm chair that had previously been there. Hermione quickly sat down next to him and leaned into his side.

"So…what is going on?" she finally asked.

"Don't freak, but we received a letter from the future telling us to read these books and try to change things. The person knew of my feelings for you and told us that you were in the middle of a nasty divorce with Ron. Apparently I died in their time-line and I was _supposed_ to be with you." Fred admitted blushing slightly.

"Bu-but changing the future is dangerous!" she exclaimed.

"Well, we've already changed it by Fred inviting you to the ball. He originally invited Angelina and I was close to killing him myself." George said.

"And even by us knowing these things we will change the future." Fred admitted. Hermione nodded, slowly giving in. Fred grabbed the book and flipped to where he left off. He then began to read again.

"**What?" said Harry, completely distracted by this startling news.**

"**Yeah, I know!" said Ron, some of the color coming back into his face as he started to laugh. "He told me after Potions! Said she's always been really nice, helping him out with work and stuff - but she told him she was already going with someone. Ha! As if! She just didn't want to go with Neville… I mean, who would?"**

Hermione frowned at that, "I would have gone with Neville if he asked. I most likely have a date already." Fred frowned at that, he was _soo_ glad he had taken the time to ask her out now.

"**Don't!" said Ginny, annoyed. "Don't laugh -"** **Just then Hermione climbed in through the portrait hole.**

"**Why weren't you two at dinner?" she said, coming over to join them.**

"**Because - oh shut up laughing, you two - because they've both just been turned down by girls they asked to the ball!" said Ginny.**

Hermione smirked at that before gasping, "We have to get Ginny and Harry together!"

George and Fred smirked, "We've been thinking the same thing." They admitted together.

**That shut Harry and Ron up.**

**"All the good-looking ones taken, Ron?" said Hermione loftily. "Eloise Midgen starting to look quite pretty now, is she? Well, I'm sure you'll find someone somewhere who'll have you."**

Fred laughed at that, "That was amazing right there." Hermione blushed.

"I haven't done it yet." She mumbled quietly so that no one heard her.

**But Ron was staring at Hermione as though suddenly seeing her in a whole new light.** "**Hermione, Neville's right - you are a girl…"**

"Dear Merlin! Please tell me he's not about to do what I think he's about to do!" George said feeling slightly bad for both of his brothers. Fred frowned and Hermione glared at the book, she didn't like the way Ron has been going about things.

"**Oh well spotted," she said acidly.**

**"Well - you can come with one of us!"**

"**No, I can't," snapped Hermione.**

"**Oh come on," he said impatiently, "we need partners, we're going to look really stupid if we haven't got any, everyone else has…"**

"**I can't come with you," said Hermione, now blushing, "because I'm already going with someone."**

"**No, you're not!" said Ron. "You just said that to get rid of Neville!"**

"He did not just say that!" Hermione yelled causing the coffee table to burst into flames. George quickly leaped up and doused the flames with his wand. "Thanks." She said absentmindedly as she leaned back into Fred.

**"Oh did I?" said Hermione, and her eyes flashed dangerously. "Just because it's taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean no one else has spotted I'm a girl!"**

**Ron stared at her. Then he grinned again.** "**Okay, okay, we know you're a girl," he said.** "**That do? Will you come now?"**

"No that does not do!" she yelled. "I can't believe he thought I was lying!"

"I know you're not lying." Fred said looking at her. "You've become far too beautiful for your own good." He chuckled at the last part though his eyes were serious. Hermione blushed but didn't say anything else.

"**I've already told you!" Hermione said very angrily. "I'm going with someone else!"** **And she stormed off toward the girls' dormitories again.**

"**She's lying," said Ron flatly, watching her go.**

"**She's not," said Ginny quietly.**

"**Who is it then?" said Ron sharply.**

"**I'm not telling you, it's her business," said Ginny.**

"Good." George said stubbornly. "The git deserves to think for a little bit. It's a good punishment for him." Hermione couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips.

"**Right," said Ron, who looked extremely put out, "this is getting stupid. Ginny, you can go with Harry, and I'll just -"**

"**I can't," said Ginny, and she went scarlet too. "I'm going with - with Neville."**

"Poor Gin-Gin." Fred said, though he sounded serious. "We really do have to find a way to get Harry's head out of his arse." Hermione and George nodded in agreement.

"We'll figure something out." She sighed.

"**He asked me when Hermione said no, and I thought… well… I'm not going to be able to go otherwise, I'm not in fourth year." She looked extremely miserable. "I think I'll go and have dinner," she said, and she got up and walked off to the portrait hole, her head bowed.**

"We really have to change this." George said sounding torn, he wanted to hate Harry for making his sister feel that way but at the same time he knew Harry was never taught how to deal with girls. Especially not with that wale of an Uncle…

**Ron goggled at Harry.**

"**What's got into them?" he demanded.**

**But Harry had just seen Parvati and Lavender come in through the portrait hole. The time had come for drastic action.**

"**Wait here," he said to Ron, and he stood up, walked straight up to Parvati, and said, "Parvati? Will you go to the ball with me?"**

"Wow." All three said together.

"Who knew he had it in 'em?" George wondered. Fred and Hermione shook their heads, they had no idea he had it in him.

**Parvati went into a fit of giggles. Harry waited for them to subside, his fingers crossed in the pocket of his robes.**

"**Yes, all right then," she said finally, blushing furiously.**

"**Thanks," said Harry, in relief. "Lavender - will you go with Ron?"**

The twins chuckled at that, how thick did you have to be to have your best mate get you a date.

"**She's going with Seamus," said Parvati, and the pair of them giggled harder than ever.**

**Harry sighed.**

"**Can't you think of anyone who'd go with Ron?" he said, lowering his voice so that Ron wouldn't hear.**

"Yea, 'cause I'm sure Ron would want his best mate begging for someone to go out with him." Fred chuckled.

"**What about Hermione Granger?" said Parvati.**

Hermione turned red at that, though it was in anger. Why did people automatically want her to go out with Ron? She liked Fred more than Ron, at least her had the sense to ask her out.

"**She's going with someone else."**

**Parvati looked astonished.** "**Ooooh - who?" she said keenly.**

**Harry shrugged. "No idea," he said. "So what about Ron?"**

"**Well…" said Parvati slowly, "I suppose my sister might… Padma, you know… in Ravenclaw. I'll ask her if you like."**

"**Yeah, that would be great," said Harry. "Let me know, will you?"**

**And he went back over to Ron, feeling that this ball was a lot more trouble than it was worth, and hoping very much that Padma Patil's nose was dead center.**

"I really hope he won't complain at that point." Hermione giggled. Fred and George chuckled along with her.

"Next chapter!" Fred called throwing the book at his twin, who caught it without problems.

"**The Yule Ball"** George read.


	2. Chapter 2AN

**Black Out**

June 23rd, GTM time, participate in the **Black Out **as a form of protest against the new policy against what the site views as inappropriate content fics including song fics, explicit sexual, violent scenes and generally what is considered inappropriate.

There are several petitions, including the one I have the link in my profile page, for everyone who's interest to stop this, but that's not enough.

So **Black Out **is organise (not by me I'm only participating as a reader and a writer).

At June 23rd, do NOT log in, review, post a new chapter or even enter the site. I know it will be hard, but if enough users do that, then they might reconsider taking down these stories.

Think about your own stories if you are a writer, you can loose all your hard work.

If you are just a reader think about all your favourite stories that you'll loose, all the hard work your favourite authors put into them.

'Unleash your imagination' is this site's motto.

Let's make it real shall we?

Because having restraints to what I am and not allowed to write seriously hurts my own imagination!

**Also **I received this message (below) that informs me that the mods of the site are not to be blamed for this. There's a group, calling themselves Critics United, that massively reports stories they deem inappropriate, harass authors to take down their stories with threats and insults and causing several wonderful stories to dissapear.

_**Message:**_

As many of you may be aware, there are many stories on this site that are being deleted due to content. This is not the doing of the site's moderators. These stories are being reported en masse by a group calling themselves Critics United (their member's forum can be found here: forum/Critics_United/78623/). They call it "constructive criticism" and see it as a service to the site and it's readers, but they are nothing but a group of cyber-bullies. I've read some of the "reviews" that they have left on some stories and it is nothing short of appalling. Hiding behind the First Amendment with "Freedom of Speech" doesn't give anyone the right to harass and verbally abuse another person. If you would like to sign a petition against them, please follow this link:

/petitions/the-authors-of-fanfiction-net-stop-critics-united-from-cyber-bullying-our-fellow-authors-2

**P.S **if you are an author on this site copy and paste this message on your stories!


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